


The Search

by Leni



Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: F/M, Fake!Rumple, Fix-It, post 6x11, sorta - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-03-07
Updated: 2017-03-07
Packaged: 2018-09-30 15:04:41
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,102
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10165622
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Leni/pseuds/Leni
Summary: It took him twelve years to find the perfect world.





	

**Author's Note:**

> @kacymyth asked: Rumbelle 40? ( “Have I entered an alternate universe or did you really just crack a smile for me?”)

It took him twelve years to find the perfect world.

Like the proverbial one-eyed man in the midst of blind people, Rumpelstiltskin had grasped onto the advantage the others were unaware of, even if he was afflicted as well. They were all fake, background characters in a wish, unimportant and easily molded by someone else’s needs. Even time meant nothing, as proved by the archer whose original version had been of an age with the Evil Queen.

Oh, but that piece of information had been reason enough to not care when the pair escaped!

Once his eyes were opened to the truth, the holes in the tapestry of their reality appeared large and glaring. There was no need for the Hatter’s aid to slip between dimensions, not when they were all outside reality.

A bit of will, a splash of power, and just enough concentration to slip through the cracks of space and time so he would arrive at the best possible moment.

As Rumpelstiltskin had supposed, Princess Emma wasn’t the only fool with a genie. There were thousands of worlds where history diverged and twisted; where his son died of poison, or in battle, or was never born at all. In a handful of them, Bae grew up to a man, the son of the town coward and his father’s only joy. These worlds Rumpelstiltskin didn’t have the heart to do more than watch from afar, unable to intrude in a life that might have been his own wish once upon a time.

But in none of those worlds had Bae been as happy as in the glimpses of him married to the silly princess, looking forward to the birth of a son he wouldn’t live to meet. Fake memories, the lot of it, but Rumpelstiltskin recognized the echoes of something real.

If that girl was his son’s True Love, then there had to be a world where Baelfire was allowed to spend a lifetime with her.

It turned out that there were dozens of them.

Rumpelstiltskin met his son in a few of them. Learned how to turn their first meetings from a screaming disaster to a possibility for reconciliation. Eventually he even understood what he needed to apologize for, and even later managed to do it sincerely, and then made amends with his boy.

And he always left.

Because knowing that his son lived and was happy meant the world for Rumpelstiltskin, but none of those fake realities were the world where he wanted to spend the rest of his life. Something was missing in them. Something sweet and pure. Something he now wanted to feel again, and couldn’t because in all of those worlds Belle had either never existed or was dead because of the ogres, the adventures after she left his castle, or from Regina’s cruelty like in his own memory.

Baelfire had been his priority, but in this infinity of wishes there had to be one where Rumpelstiltskin could have it all.

It took him twelve years to find it.

Here his son was alive. He had already met Snow White’s older daughter, and was intrigued by her. He was hiding from the Dark One, an easy feat since Rumpelstiltskin never dreamed to search for his lost child within the Enchanted Forest.

In this world, Belle had already been traded into his service, but something had gone wrong. Rumpelstiltskin’s chance to use the Evil Queen to cast the curse was gone, and in this world he hadn’t been caged to stew in his anger by himself. He believed Baelfire out of his reach forever. So much anger… So much darkness… The tiny flicker of light that memories of Belle had kept alive in him did not exist in this Dark One. With a heart so black, he had truly become a monster.

All he knew was pain and fury, and he wanted the world to suffer as well.

The maid took the brunt of it.

Too thin. Too pale. Too exhausted from the impossible tasks her master appointed her, and then the little sleep she got in that cold dungeon. Rumpelstiltskin scrambled back at the first sight of this Belle, unable to wrap his mind around the idea of being the cause of her misery.

Not like this. Not so much that her kindness and hope was practically snuffed out.

If nothing changed, he knew, this Belle would not see another year.

And the Dark One never changed.

It was the first time he felt at peace in using his dagger. The other version of him never saw it coming.

His first decision once he’d taken the other’s place was to set Belle free and move on.

She suspected a trap and refused to leave.

After some thought, Rumpelstiltskin ‘rewarded’ her with a better room. For her loyalty, he said. Then he pretended a newfound interest in silly storybooks and turned a blind eye when Belle picked them up curiously. Left for several days at a time, and returned with a knick knack and the sudden whim to share the story behind it. He didn’t attempt to become her friend or to force her to see how he had 'changed’ - his encounters with Baelfire had taught him to be patient in these things - and instead he treated her with care and respect, kept to an aloof countenance so she didn’t get even more suspicious, and hoped that the damage his other self had caused was not permanent.

Little by little, the dread in Belle’s eyes retreated.

Day after day, she moved less stiffly around him.

Until one day she entered the main hall, bearing a tray with tea for two, and for the first time in the five months since he had arrived in this world, Rumpelstiltskin saw the lively, sweet girl he had known and grown to love.

He relaxed, wondering whether this would finally be the world where he could settle. The thought that he might have found True Love again, here where his son lived as well, made his polite mask slip for a moment.

Belle caught the change. She almost tripped in surprise, then did a double take. Tilted her head. Pulled her lips into a teasing smile. “Have I entered an alternate universe or did you really just crack a smile for me?”

Rumpelstiltskin blinked at her phrasing. An alternate universe indeed!

Belle frowned, but said with tolerant humor. “It’s not that funny, Rumple.”

Rumpelstiltskin let out a last chuckle, barely keeping himself from reaching for her an explaining everything. “Oh, my dear. But it is!”

 

The End  
07/03/17

**Author's Note:**

> Comments are love. Please leave a comment!


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